Gambrel Roof With Ridge Beam

A timber frame truss roof with ridge beams and common rafters can provide a larger space between each truss.

Gambrel roof with ridge beam.

Come to think of it the only style shed i can see that would be easy to use a ridge beam is the gable style shed. Gambrel roof trusses on one side have an oblique cut for attachment to the ridge beam. The standard gambrel using a combination of14and 12 foot raf tersections. The ridge board s length will be the outside measurement of the building plus the length of the overhang at both ends.

The gross areaof the three raftergpnbrelwas taken. These simple but elegant gambrel roof structures have been popular on hay barns for many years. I can t ever recall seeing a saltbox shed built with a ridge beam or even a gambrel roof shed for that matter. Peculiarities of gambrel roof constructing to frame a gambrel roof that is to meet all requirements of reliability and durability you should observe following conditions.

Area under roof the same gross areawas taken forboth roofs. The common rafters are often smaller than the truss timbers to differentiate between the primary and secondary timber frame elements. For 2 x 6 rafters use a 2 x 8 ridge board and so on. Bothwere roof shapes stable underallcustomary dead loads for34 foot bams.

Choose a ridge board that is one size larger than your common rafters. That a conventional barn sized gambrel is a nightmare of purlin beams ridge beams and dovetail. Figure 4 givesthe dimensions for the roofs. For 2 x 4 rafters use a 2 x 6 ridge board.